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Liveaboard Diving in Koh Bon
What To Expect On A Koh Bon Liveaboard
Liveaboards to Koh Bon take divers to this remote uninhabited limestone island in the shape of a horseshoe to the north of Similan Island no.9. As with Koh Tachai it is within speedboat distance of Khao Lak but unlike it, there are no beaches here so water entry is strictly from the boat only. This isolated island in the middle of the Andaman Sea is covered with forests and plants and poorly sheltered from the elements in bad weather. Koh Bon Ridge and Koh Bon Pinnacle are considered two of the best dive sites in Thailand. The marine life here is abundant and there is a manta ray cleaning station so high probability of seeing these majestic creatures. Not as popular a dive site as its surrounding partners in the Andaman Sea, it means this site can be a wonderfully quiet one to dive, a refreshing change in the busy season of April - May. Koh Bon offers a beautiful selection of marine life and dived responsibly is a great destination on your liveaboard journey.
What You Can See
The underwater terrain of Koh Bon Ridge, on the southwestern corner, starts with a ridge that drops off to depths of up to 45m. A significant vertical drop, the wall here is covered in zigzag clams, anemones and soft corals, notice their variation and changing spectrum of colors the deeper you go. The wall is worth investigating closely for critters and makes a good first deep dive. Its bay is quite sheltered and with minimal current provides a good spot for night dives also. The western side of the ridge is covered in strikingly beautiful coral formations and sea fans of different shapes and sizes and slopes down gently. These coral formations provide shelter for a varied marine life. On your liveaboard dive cruise, it is common to see resting Leopard Sharks or nurse sharks on the sandy bottom as well as the common morays, triggerfish, lionfish, and sweetlips. The banded sea snake, octopus, batfish and mantis shrimp, pipefish, and the rare frogfish are exciting additions to these waters, albeit what all divers aim to witness is the gentle gliding of the Manta Ray, here to feed and be cleaned. A dive can sometimes just involve hanging around in one spot while these curious black and white majestic beings circle and hover over you, enjoying your bubbles, demonstrating the perfect buoyancy, and then showing off their acrobatic skills.
Koh Bon Pinnacle, to the west, is more exposed, suitable for the experienced diver, and suggested only in good conditions. With depths of 18-40m, the pinnacles jet out to around 25m high. With a mountainous look and feel, this small site is definitely far from boring. The reef's sloping wall is covered in yellow soft coral, hiding decorator crabs, moray eels, and their cleaner shrimps and shrimp-gobies peering out of the holes. Look into the blue for passing eagle rays, blacktip reef sharks or manta rays. The currents can be strong here and may attract Manta Rays as well.
Getting There
The best way to get to Koh Bon is on a Thailand liveaboard trip to the Surin Islands, which will depart from either Phuket or Khao Lak. Further from Phuket than from Khao Lak, (200 km north of Phuket and 80 km northwest of Khao Lak), it is worth checking what port you prefer to depart from. Khao Lak is about 100km north of Phuket and can be reached overland. Please check your itinerary before purchasing flight tickets. There are international flights into Phuket and/or domestic flights from Bangkok to Phuket. As part of the Similan Islands, the area is closed between the months of May to October.
Koh Bon Diving Reviews
- 9.2 Superb
- 55 Verified Reviews
Great wall diving, beautiful landscapes and corals, lots of small fish and a couple of turtles
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Oktavia
Three dives on West Ridge and encounters with oceanic mantas on each one. A life changing experience for me. As a returning 65 year old who hadn’t dived for many years thanks for guiding me to these most thrilling, amazing sites.
Diving Koh Bon in March on the The Junk
Many species can be found here
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Camic
Mantas, nothing more to say ;)
Diving Koh Bon in February on the The Junk
Great diving spot, huge diversity of fish
Diving Koh Bon in January on the The Junk
Beautiful site! Great fishes and nudibranches
Diving Koh Bon in February on the The Junk
Great site but very poor visibility
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Oktavia
My favourite site, this is where we had the whale shark and about 3 manta rays circling and feeding for about 40 minutes on the western ridge. There must have been nutrient rich currents or thermoclines to have such a gathering and I was in awe, like a sequence from a dream.
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Oktavia
Nice. Manta and whale shakrs appeared together.
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Oktavia
Great dive site with amazing landscapes. Couldn’t look around much because of a couple of manta rays were hanging around entire dives.
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Hallelujah
Fantastic - 3 dives with whale sharks!
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Oktavia
Pretty nice, we did not manage to see mantas and the current was quite strong.
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Dolphin Queen
Incredible manta experience on repeat. Will remember for the rest of my life.
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Hallelujah
Easy site to dive. Large amount of marine life and clear waters
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Dolphin Queen
Loads of fish, nice wall and corals, would definitely dive there again.
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Oktavia
Beautiful coral gardens with excellent visibility
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Hallelujah
Beautiful and similar to the other islands in the area.
Diving Koh Bon in December on the The Junk
Excellent diving site. We experinced a bit of current.
Diving Koh Bon in December on the The Junk
Really nice diving, beautiful reefs
Diving Koh Bon in December on the The Junk
Good in general, liked exploring the west ridge.
Diving Koh Bon in December on the Genesis I
Very nice, but challenging with rather strong current
Diving Koh Bon in November on the Oktavia
Great spot to dive, something new to see every time.
Diving Koh Bon in November on the Hallelujah
Nice sites for small sea life
Diving Koh Bon in November on the Oktavia
I found Koh Bon's topography among the best of the sites visited. Once again the Vis made this site incredible
Diving Koh Bon in April on the The Phinisi
Crystal clear vis. No mantas or sharks this time - but we did meet the Green Monster, a very impressive thermocline caused by cold, greenish water welling up from the depths
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Similan Explorer
excellent, saw oceanic manta
Diving Koh Bon in March on the Oktavia
Best dive along west ridge
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Oktavia
It thought the diving and scenery of this island was incredible.
Diving Koh Bon in March on the Camic
No mantas at Koh Bon this time but marine life was still exceptional
Diving Koh Bon in March on the Camic
Pretty good, some leopard sharks came along :)
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Oktavia
I really liked Koh Bon. We dived two sites here, the West Ridge and the Coral Garden. The Coral Garden was the most varied with a Southward drift across some dead coral and some areas where there was a lot of new growth and developing coral heads.
Diving Koh Bon in April on the The Junk
Lovely easy divesite with heaps of diversity
Diving Koh Bon in March on the Similan Explorer
Fish swarms. Though a little bit worse visibility than the days before, great dive.
Diving Koh Bon in March on the Dolphin Queen
Clear view, amazing big size of aquatic life
Diving Koh Bon in February on the The Junk
Best noght dive was in koh bon
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Similan Explorer
Excellent! 1 dive at Koh Bon
Diving Koh Bon in February on the The Junk
Very good. Good visivility. In the last dive there most of the divers saw a manta ray.
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Hallelujah Liveaboard
Nice, there we saw the Manta ray!
Diving Koh Bon in February on the Dolphin Queen
Good, stay at the top of the pinical it's stunning
Diving Koh Bon in January on the Similan Explorer
Amazing, could see so many fish and awesome coral.
Diving Koh Bon in December on the Dolphin Queen